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The purpose of this study is to comparatively analyze the effect of dividend policy on shareholders’ wealth in Shariah-compliant (SC) and noncompliant (NC) nonfinancial firms in Pakistan.

All the nonfinancial firms listed on the Pakistan stock exchange have been taken as a sample for 2016–2021. The Karachi Meezan index screening criteria were applied to screen SC firms. Based on the BPLM and Hausman test results, the authors used the fixed-effect and pooled OLS model for SC and NC firms, respectively. The F-test was used to compare the effect of each dividend policy variable on shareholders’ wealth for both firm types.

The findings reveal that the dividend policy does affect the shareholders’ wealth in both firm types. Dividend per share (DPS), dividend yield (DY) and earnings per share significantly affect the shareholders’ wealth in SC firms. For NC firms, the dividend payout, DPS and DY are critical. Moreover, the F-test results show that the DPS, DY and leverage effect on the shareholders’ wealth significantly differ for both firm types.

This study fills the research gap in the Pakistani context specifically as well as globally by providing important insights into the relationship between a firm’s dividend policy and shareholders’ wealth for SC and NC firms. In addition, this study comprehensively compares the results for both firm types, which is also lacking in the existing literature. Because this study is based in Pakistan, the generalizability of the results would be limited.

The findings of this study are helpful for the management of SC and NC firms in devising their dividend policies that can maximize their shareholders’ wealth. This study also provides guidance and knowledge to investors in choosing companies for their investments that can maximize their wealth.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyzes the relationship between dividend policy and shareholders’ wealth for SC firms in Pakistan. It is also the first study that comprehensively compares the dividend policy relationship with shareholders’ wealth for SC and NC firms. In addition, using the F-test for joint hypotheses to compare the specific effect of each dividend policy variable is a methodological contribution of the study.

Financial reports are the basis of economic decisions that affect organizational interests and shareholders. However, there is a severe research gap concerning the factors affecting the quality of financial information (such as audit report readability and tone). Therefore, considering the importance of presenting high-quality financial information, this study aims to investigate the impact of intellectual capital (IC) and its components on the audit report's readability and tone.

The multivariate regression model tests research hypotheses. Then, hypotheses are tested via a sample of 824 observations of the listed companies on the Tehran Stock Exchange (103 companies) from 2014 to 2021, using the multivariate regression model based on pooled data and fixed effects.

Results determine that customer capital (CC) and structural capital (SC) are likely to influence the audit report tone positively. In general, the IC and human capital (HC) negatively impact auditors' tone. More analyses also document that IC and its CC, HC and SC components positively and significantly affect audit report readability based on two readability indices, including FOG and text length. Finally, findings pertaining to the third readability index (Flesch index) reveal that only HC and SC are robust based on this measurement, whereas the IC and CC have a negative and significant impact on the readability of auditors’ reports.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to address this issue in emerging markets, and it provides helpful insights for users, analysts and legal institutions regarding IC, which significantly affects audit report readability and tone.

Most research on tax evasion focused on microeconomic variables revolving around perceptions and decisions of individual taxpayers. However, a new wave of research is now investigating the role of macroeconomic variables in inducing tax evasion. This study adds to the limited studies in this new direction of research. Previous studies found that inflation, low gross domestic product (GDP) growth and gross fixed capital formation causes recession, increases unemployment, raise interest rates, hurts both domestic and foreign direct investments. This study examined the relationship between these variables and estimated tax evasion in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The study adopts a correlation research design with 2,300 data points collected from 23 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, tax to GDP ratio, gross fixed capital formation per GDP and the GDP annual growth report from each country for the period 2011–2020 was retrieved. Generalised least square regression technique was employed to analyse the data due to the presence of heteroskedasticity in the model and random effect was utilized based on the Hausman test. To avoid misspecification and biased result; therefore, all relevant test was conducted including the multicollinearity test.

The results indicate that GDP annual growth and gross fixed capital formation have a significant negative impact on estimated tax evasion in Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings further indicate a negative but insignificant relationship between inflation and estimated tax evasion in Sub-Saharan Africa. The study concludes that both GDP annual growth rate and gross fixed capital formation negatively influence estimated tax evasion and the policy implications in the African continent were discussed.

The new findings on the effects of GDP annual growth, growth fixed capital formation and inflation on estimated tax evasion provide novel knowledge that is currently lacking in the current literature, specifically Sub-Saharan African continent.

The aim of this paper is to investigate whether Mayors in Portugal engage in earnings management close to zero with the motivation of re-election.

The data used in this study were annual financial information from Portuguese municipalities from 2005 to 2016, as well as data on elections and Mayor re-elections involving three political cycles. The methodologies employed were quantitative, including graphical and panel data regressions.

The results indicate that municipalities used discretionary accruals to engage in earnings management to report net earnings close to zero, and re-election seems to be a motivation for earnings management behaviour. Furthermore, the results suggest that municipalities in which the Mayor is re-elected are less likely to report positive net earnings close to zero.

This paper makes a valuable contribution to the literature on earnings management in municipalities. At the theoretical level, it makes it possible to identify whether re-election is a motivation for earnings management and, in this sense, to identify patterns of behaviour by managers. On a practical level, the knowledge of a manager's behaviour patterns will help to anticipate his or her future behaviour and, consequently, may prevent inefficiencies.

The aim of this study is to examine the ownership impact on firm sustainable investments (FSIs). In particular, this research examines the link between institutional investor ownership (IIO), managerial ownership (MOWN) and FSIs in the tourism industry in Malaysia.

This study uses a data set of 346 firm-year observations from 2008 to 2020 and applies feasible generalized least squares (FGLS) regression analysis. The study sample is based on tourism firms listed on Bursa Malaysia (the Malaysian Stock Exchange).

There is a significant positive association between IIO and FSIs. When IIO is classified into foreign (FIIO) and local (LIIO), this significant association is mainly driven by FIIO. In addition, there is a significant, positive association between managerial ownership (MOWN) and firm sustainable investments (FSIs). These findings imply that firm ownership has an influence on FSIs in the tourism industry.

This is the first attempt to consider IIO and MOWN simultaneously in a single model estimation. The findings contribute to emerging capital markets where the involvement of ownership concentration in the governance of publicly listed firms is a common practice.

This study aims to analyze the relationship between economic complexity (EC) and the green economy (GE) with the real and accrual earnings management (REM and AEM) of the listed companies on the Iranian stock exchange. The authors study whether EC and the GE can affect REM and AEM.

The authors used a multiple regression model based on the panel data and a fixed effect model to test hypotheses. The sample includes 1,351 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange from 2014 to 2021.

The results show a positive and significant relationship between EC and the GE with REM and AEM.

Considering the importance of a GE and since this research is the first to address the mentioned topic in emerging markets, it provides helpful insights for financial statement users, analysts and legal entities. Our study fills the literature gap and promotes knowledge regarding its relevant literature. Examining this relationship portrays the latest research perspectives in this field. The information from this study can assist in environmental management decision-making and relevant policymaking, promoting the movement toward sustainable development.

The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of anti-money laundering (AML) regulations on accrual earnings management (AEM) and real earnings management (REM) in Iran’s emerging capital market.

The panel data regression is used to testing hypotheses. The sample includes 2,020 data and 202 companies listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange (TSE) over a period of ten years from 2012 to 2021. Also, the companies covered in this study include financial and nonfinancial companies. Furthermore, the data related to the research variables were extracted from the annual financial statements and the TSE database.

The results show that compliance with AML regulations leads to a reduction in AEM and REM. In other words, companies with higher money laundering (ML) tend to manage their earnings, which is in line with agency theory.

This study has implication for policymakers and regulators, auditors and managers. Considering the negative impact of AML regulations on earnings management (EM), Iranian auditing firms need to emphasize on the full implementation of AML regulations in TSE. Also, the results of this research may aid policymakers and regulators to detect financial crimes through accounting signals.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study in an Iran capital market to examine the impact of AML regulations on EM in financial and nonfinancial companies. Previous research has not controlled for the effects of financial companies. Prior studies have not examined the effects of financial companies. In addition, this study differentiates itself from previous studies by introducing a new method for measuring the independent ML variable based on auditor opinions. The obtained data can aid international bodies to better understand compliance with ML regulations in Iran and can reduce their concerns in negotiations.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between the productive structure and the size of the informal economy in Latin American countries.

The study employs econometric techniques for panel data covering the period from 2002 to 2017 and considering 17 Latin American countries. The evidence presented is based on the informal economy data generated by Medina and Schneider (2018) who estimate the size of the informal economy using a structural equation model and the share of manufacturing in total employment as a measure of the size of the manufacturing sector. Also, the study addresses the possible endogeneity bias in the relationship studied and makes the conclusions more robust, thus avoiding spurious correlations that weaken the findings.

The results indicate that most industrialized Latin American countries are associated with a smaller size of the informal economy.

The findings have important policy implications, as they suggest that Latin American economies need to switch the structure of the economy toward more sophisticated productive structures if they want to reduce the size of the informal economy. Thus, more efforts should be deployed to policies to diversify and upgrade economies.

The study contributes to the literature on the informal economy by connecting the country’s productive structure and informality. Specifically, the results show that the productive structure of countries is a plausible explanation for the size of the informal economy.

The purpose of the research was to evaluate the relationship between income and the recycled materials used in order to rate the business related to circular repair services under the burden of economic development in the countries of the European Union.

The analytical processes explore data from 2010 to 2020. The countries were divided into clusters according to economic maturity (Human Development Index (HDI), real Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita). Subsequently, the relationships were evaluated through the income indicators (for the 13 population groups), and the circular materials use rate indicator. The three indicators decomposed into five specific metrics were employed. The commonly applied characteristics of the descriptive analysis, Pearson's correlation coefficient and the panel regression analysis were engaged in the investigation.

The results demonstrated the vast disparities between income and circular materials use. In the more economically developed countries, their levels were twice higher as the less-developed countries. However, there is a meaningful positive relationship between them. The greatest attention was paid to the panel regression analysis applied to the relationship between income and circular economy (CE) use. The results showed that in a majority of the cases (different income categories), there is a significant positive relationship. When comparing the outcomes of the regression models between the groups of the countries according to their economic development, a closer relationship was clearly demonstrated in the countries with a lower level of development (Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia, Hungary).

Besides the specific strengths, the study also shows some limitations identified mainly on the data side. The latest data on the consumption of circular materials come from 2020, so they do not cover the period related to the pandemic crisis. It is believed that there may have been some changes in income during the pandemic, and they may have harmed CE. Furthermore, there is to note that some limitations occur in the analytical process. The incompleteness of the data can also be included here as certain data is not available; hence, it was estimated directly by the Eurostat statistical authority.

At the same time, the following are currently considered among the primary barriers: financial restrictions, insufficient infrastructure, weak government support and obstacles on the global market. Consumers, industry leaders and the government are the most influential stakeholder groups in overcoming barriers. Higher demand for repair services will also initiate further development of business activities in this area at various regional levels. Progress in the repair services economy will continue to require extensive efforts in the future. Systematic coordination of activities at multiple levels of government together with manufacturers, designers, educational institutions, community institutions and individuals will be essential.

Socioeconomic characteristics such as sex, age and education represent crucial predictors of consumer behavior. Therefore, the authors would like to focus future research on analyzing these characteristics and examine all the conceptual frameworks of consumer behavior and its positioning in detail within CE and the strategies related to the repair service. Discussing this issue through follow-up research will allow for solving complex transformational and political tasks related to the repair service strategies within CE. It will also inspire the discussion frameworks and multidisciplinary solutions to this issue affecting the fields of human geography, sociological, ethnographic and political sciences.

In less-developed countries, wage change can have a more substantial impact on the development of the CE. Also, a closer relationship between business in the field of repair services with income and the use of circular materials was manifested in the same way.

The aim of this study is to examine the nature and determinants of stock market integration between India and other Asia–Pacific countries (Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Taiwan) over the period 1991–2021.

Unit root tests, the dynamic conditional correlation-Glosten Jagannathan and Runkle-generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (DCC-GJR-GARCH), pooled ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and random effects models are employed for the analysis.

The empirical results show that the DCC between each pair of sample countries is less than 0.5, indicating weak ties between the pairs of sample countries. Also, the DCC between India and other Asia–Pacific stock markets is positive and low, implying low level of integration. The correlation between India and China stock markets is found to be the highest, implying significant level of integration. The main reason for it would be strong economic linkages and bilateral trade relationship between India and China. Moreover, gross domestic product (GDP), interest rate (IR), consumer price index (CPI)-inflation and money supply (MS) differentials are the major driver of stock market integration between India and other Asia–Pacific countries.

The findings of the study have important implications for investors, portfolio managers and policymakers. It is found that the DCC between India and other Asia–Pacific countries (considered in the study) except China is low, which indicates weak ties between the pairs of sample countries. This implies that the Indian stock market provides good investment opportunities for foreign investors. Also, investors and portfolio managers can attain more diversified benefits and can minimize country risk by investing across Asia–Pacific countries. Further, knowledge about the factors that integrate the Indian stock market with the other Asia–Pacific stock markets will help policymakers frame suitable economic and financial stabilization policies.

This study contributes to the extant literature: first, by examining the linkages of Indian stock market with other Asia–Pacific countries; second, although previous studies confirmed the existence of linkages among the various stock markets, few researchers pay attention to the factors driving the process of stock market integration. This study provides additional evidence by examining the significant macroeconomic factors driving the process of such integration in the Asia–Pacific region considered under the study.